Rotary engine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. 0. WHARTON.

ROTARY ENGINE.

No. 290,508. Patented Dec. 18, 1883.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' (No Model.)

J. 0. WHARTON.

ROTARY ENGINE.

No. 290,508. Patented Dec. 18, 1883.

INVENTOR:

ATTommY WITNESSES 6%; w; M Z AZ 'llwrrnn rims JOHN CRIDDLE \VHARTON, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 290,508, dated December 18, 1883.

Application filed April 25, 1883.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jonn O. Wnanron, of Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and Improved Rotary Engine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My improved rotary engine consists of a cylinder containing a vibrating piston pivoted at one side of the cylinder, so as to swing upon a center of motion apart from the axis of the cylinder, and in connection with these a crank-shaft connected to the vibrating piston, so that in operation the shaft is revolved by the movements of the piston, or the shaft may be fixed and the cylinder revolved by the same movement, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a rotary en ine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the lineman, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the valve mechanism on the line y y, .Fig. 1.

A is the cylinder provided withheads a a, and supported upon a shaft, 6, which is formed with a crank within the cylinder. The shaft 32 is supportedin suitable bearings, and is pr0- vided with a balance-wheel, c, and pulley cl, when the shaft is to be revolved; or, in case the cylinder is to be revolved, the shaft will be fixed and the cylinder provided with a pulley and balance-wheel, as shownat e, or the cylinder may be supported upon rollers, as shown at f in Fig. 2. y

B is the vibrating piston, hinged at g in a recess at the side of the cylinder A and having its moving end extending into a recess, a, formed in the side of the cylinder opposite to the hinge, in which recess the outer end of the piston moves.

The piston is composed of two segments, h h, shaped to conform to the inner surface of the cylinder, and is fitted lengthwise withtwo guide-plates, t 2', between which the crankshaft 1) passes.

In one head a of the cylinder are steam- 5 ports is k, and upon the same head are fitted two chambers, l m, covering the ports k 7c.

(No model.)

, Fixed upon the shaft 6, in a case or chamber, 0, and between the two chambers l m, is a rotary valve, 72, having a semicircular chamber, a, at one side, the outer face of the chamber .n being provided with an opening that is brought in connection with the chambers Z m alternately by the revolution of the shaft.

To the chamber a of the valve is connected a steam-supply pipe, 13, and to the chamber 0 is connected an exhaust-pipe, g. The valve 92. is connected to the shaft 1) by a key, 1', on the end of a rod, 0", and the valve is formed with an inclined or spiral slot that receives the key. The shaft 2) is tubular in order to receive the rod 1, which projects from one end of the shalt b, where it is connected to a lever,

s, so that by endwise movement of the rod 1* the valve n can be given a half-revolution upon the shaft for the purpose of reversing the 0 engine.

It will be seen by the connection of the vibrating piston to the crank of the shaft 1), as shown, that the movement of the piston will cause. a rotary movement of the shaft, the 5 crank sliding between the plates '6 or, in case the crank-shaft is hold fast, the movement of the piston will cause the rotation of the cylinder upon its central axis.

In the operation of the engine, the piston 3 being in the position shown in Fig. 2, the valve-chamber a is open to the chamber 1 and port It, and the steam being thus admitted behind the piston 13, the piston is moved forward upon its axis causing the rotation of the shaft. When the piston reaches the position shown in' dotted lines in Fig. 2, the opening to the chamber Z has been closed and the chamher an opened thereto, allowing the steam to exhaust through port It. chamber Z, and the cham 0 her 0 to the exhaustpipe. q. The valve now admits steam to the chamber m and port is, thereby causing the return of the piston andthe completion of the revolution of the shaft. The extension of the piston B into the recess of the 5 cylinder forms an abutment between the two ports, and the opposite end of the piston is provided with suitable packing against the face of the recess in opposite side of cylinder.

It is evident that, in place of using a crank- 10o shaft, the cylinder may be supported on rollers, as in Fig. 2, and the vibrating piston engage a center on the cylinder corresponding to the crank.

I do not limit myself to any special construction, as that may be varied without affecting the essential parts, which are a steam cylinder or chamberwith three parallel axes of motion, two of which are represented by the crank-shaft and the third by the hinge 9. Any one or all of these axes of motion may be theoretically and practically extended to any suitable length, either within or without the cylinder; also, the slide-bar or bars of the piston may slide over or through that portion of the crank upon which it operates, either within or without the cylinder.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent- 1. In a rotary engine, the combination, with the cylinde'rA and the crank-shaft b, of the piston B, pivoted at g to one side of the cylinder' and provided with guide-plates i, be-

tween which the crank-shaft passes, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In rotary engines, the combination of the vibrating piston composed of the segments and the steam chambers Z m, of the rotary valve n, provided with the chamber a, and the valve-casing 0, substantially as herein shown and described.

5. In a rotary engine, the combination, with the cylinder A, provided with the ports k,

and the chambers Zm, and the shaft 12, having a tubular end, of the valve n, provided with a spiral slot, and the rod r, provided with the 4 key a, substantially as herein shown and de- 4 scribed.

JOHN ORIDDLE WHARTON. Witnesses:

I. TREGENDRIOK, 13. D. SMITH, Jr. 

